


Rightful Ownership

by orphan_account



Category: Famous Five - Enid Blyton
Genre: Alternative Scene, Five on a Treasure Island, Gen, Stealing, alternative, belt, box - Freeform, treasure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-25
Updated: 2014-08-25
Packaged: 2018-02-14 16:51:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2199528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"All right, Baby," said Julian, putting his arm round Anne. He looked furious. He thought <br/>it was very unfair of his uncle to take the box like that. "Listen- I'm not going to stand <br/>this. We'll get hold of that box somehow and look into it. I'm sure your father won't <br/>bother himself with it, George- he'll start writing his book again and forget all about it. I'll <br/>wait my chance and slip into his study and get it, even if it means a spanking if I'm <br/>discovered!" <br/>-Five on a Treasure Island</p><p>What if Julian had been caught?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rightful Ownership

"All right, Baby," said Julian, putting his arm round Anne. He looked furious. He thought

it was very unfair of his uncle to take the box like that. "Listen- I'm not going to stand

this. We'll get hold of that box somehow and look into it. I'm sure your father won't

bother himself with it, George- he'll start writing his book again and forget all about it. I'll

wait my chance and slip into his study and get it, even if it means a spanking if I'm

discovered!"

-Five on a Treasure Island, Enid Blyton

* * *

 

The house was remarkably quiet with three of the four children down at the beach, bathing. The fourth, Julian, was sat in the garden, half concentrating on his book and half on the study door which he could just see through the kitchen window. It was a beautifully warm day, and Julian could just see why Uncle Quentin might go for a nap on this kind of day. He hoped rather desperately that he would go to sleep soon, as he was longing to splash about in the refreshing sea with the others.

“Julian!”

Julian felt slightly guilty at the relief of the other children flooding into the garden, dressed in shorts and their costumes, their towels and shirts draped over their arms. Timmy ran up from behind them, dripping with water, before promptly shaking himself all over Julian.

“Timmy, you silly thing!” George exclaimed. “Of all of us, you chose poor Ju to dry yourself over – he was the only dry one, and now you are!”

“Have you had a chance to nip into Uncle Quentin's study?” Dick asked curiously, grinning at Julian's attempts to shake the water back off of him.

“Not yet, I'm afraid – he's been working away all afternoon, and Aunt Fanny took him a cup of tea a few minutes ago, so I doubt that he'll sleep any time soon!”

Julian's words were contradicted just a second later by a loud, roaring snore coming straight from the study!

“Did Aunt Fanny hear you come in?” Julian asked quietly, glancing over them all.

“No, I don't think she did.” Anne replied. “She's upstairs sewing, I think, so she probably wouldn't hear an earthquake!”

“Go back out and wait near the front of the house. Then, if I get caught, you can go away and Uncle Quentin can't blame any of you.”

“We can't possibly do that – then you'd get all the blame!” George immediately exclaimed, her fairness coming forward.

“There's no point in getting us all into trouble, especially not you girls. Go on now – if you hear a yell, you'll know he caught me!” Julian smiled at his own weak joke. Inside, he could feel anxiety pulsing through him. 'It'll be an awful shame if Uncle Quentin catches me,' thought the boy, 'but it simply can't be helped!'

* * *

 

After years of boarding school (and thus midnight feasts, midnight swims and other illicit night time excursions), Julian was a seasoned expert at creeping around sleeping people. As he stole into the study, he stood stock-still as he glanced around for the box. Uncle Quentin was sleeping apparently deeply in a comfortable armchair, with the box a few feet away from him on his desk. Creeping forwards, he carefully picked up the box...and almost gave a cry of dismay as a piece of wood broke from it and fell to the floor with a thud! Immediately, his Uncle stirred, and suddenly sat up sharply, staring right at Julian!

“What on _earth_ are you doing?” Uncle Quentin shouted. Outside of the front door the other children and Timmy heard the shout with a groan and began to walk back down to the beach. Poor Julian!

“I was just trying to fetch our box, Uncle.” Julian replied, his bravery seeping away. He felt whatever was left of his bravery practically run away when his Uncle undid his thick leather belt and pull it off.

“I'll show you what thieves in this family get, Julian!” Uncle Quentin threateningly exclaimed, before pointing at his desk. “Bend over!”

 

* * *

 

When Anne, Dick and George (Timmy had been dropped back off with Alf, as George didn't want to risk bringing him into the garden when she knew that her father's temper had been raised) arrived back, the house seemed distinctly silent. 

“Aunt Fanny! We're back from the beach!” Dick called, trying to inject innocent cheer into his voice. Immediately, Aunt Fanny emerged from the sitting room, her sweet face anxious.

“Be quiet, children – Quentin is very cross at Julian, and Julian's in bed in disgrace.”

“What happened?” Anne asked, knowing the answer well but hoping that as Julian was in bed, he wouldn't have been spanked.

“Julian tried to take a box that your Uncle took from you yesterday back from Quentin's office. Quentin woke up, and he got awfully angry.”

“May we go up and see Julian?” Dick asked, feeling sympathy for his older brother. None of the three siblings had been spanked more than a handful of times in their life at home (though Dick and Julian had received their fair share of canings at school for various pranks!), and Dick had a horrible feeling that this would have been a bad one.

“If you're quiet.” Aunt Fanny replied. Immediately, the three children flooded upstairs and into the boys bedroom. The curtains were drawn and the light was turned off, but Julian was reading by the light of his torch.

“Ju! Are you okay?” Anne asked, noticing that his eyes were rather red-rimmed and immediately knowing that the worst had happened.

“I'm fine.” he replied, his voice slightly shakier than normal. “Uncle Quentin gave me an awful spanking with his belt, simply awful, but I'm fine – and he didn't notice that I took the box after all!”

George, Dick and Anne all grinned when Julian pulled the box out from underneath the blanket.

“Good old Ju!” George cried, thumping him on the back. Julian smiled back at them.

“I must say, Dick, Uncle Quentin could give even old Rennison a run for his money!”

Dick grinned. “Who's Rennison?” curiously asked George.

“A history master at our school – simply _ferocious_ with the cane.” Dick replied.

“Are you sure that you're okay?” Anne asked, nervously patting her brothers arm like an old mother hen.

“I'll be alright. Nothing that a good sleep – which it looks like I'll get – and a long bathe tomorrow won't put right.” Julian smiled at his sister, and she smiled back, glad that he wasn't too worse for wear. “Now, can you help me open the box? I tried and tried, but it just wouldn't open.”

 


End file.
